Catch People Doing Things Right , livre ebook

Catch People Doing Things Right
How Ken Blanchard Changed the Way the World Leads
Martha C. Lawrence
Catch People Doing Things Right
Copyright 2025 by Martha C. Lawrence
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First Edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lawrence, Martha C. author
Title: Catch people doing things right : how Ken Blanchard changed the way the world leads / Martha C. Lawrence.
Description: First edition. | Oakland, CA : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., [2025] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2025013963 (print) | LCCN 2025013964 (ebook) | ISBN 9798890571359 hardcover | ISBN 9798890571342 pdf | ISBN 9798890571359 epub
Subjects: LCSH: Blanchard, Kenneth H. | Businessmen-United States-Biography | Businesspeople- United States-Biography | Success | LCGFT: Biographies
Classification: LCC HC102.5.B525 L38 2025 (print) | LCC HC102.5.B525 (ebook)
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025013963
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025013964
2025-1
Book production: Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Jacket design: Ashley Ingram
Cover photo: Steve Smith
Author photo: Griff Peters
To the next generation of leaders: Remember to lead with love.
Contents Introduction Prologue 1 Family Roots and Childhood 1939-1944 2 Leadership Beginnings 1945-1957 3 The Cornellian 1957-1961 4 Margie 1961-1962 5 Thwarted Dreams 1962-1966 6 A Key Partnership 1966-1970 7 Developing a New Leadership Philosophy 1970-1976 8 A Company Is Born 1976-1980 9 The One Minute Manager 1980-1983 10 Growing a Global Organization 1980-1989 11 Finding Faith 1986-Present 12 Chief Spiritual Officer 1990-2001 13 The Servant Leader 2001-2007 14 Refiring, Not Retiring 2007-2020 15 Leading with Love 2020-2023 Discussion Guide Transcription of Ken s Tape to His Dying Father, 1979 Books by Ken Blanchard Notes Acknowledgments Index About the Author
Introduction
Dr. Kenneth H. Blanchard likes to be known simply as Ken. On first meeting him, people are often struck by how unpretentious he is and how happy he is to see them.
He doesn t act like a famous guy, says Ken s longtime agent, Richard Andrews. When you meet Ken, one of the first things you feel is, I d like to spend more time with this person.
I first became aware of Ken Blanchard when I was working as an editor in the book publishing industry in the 1980s. In those days, the business parable he coauthored with Dr. Spencer Johnson, The One Minute Manager , was ubiquitous, topping all the bestseller lists and prominently showcased in all the bookstores. Reading that book forever changed the way I approached the leadership aspects of my role. In its pages, I found permission to connect and collaborate with people rather than command and control them.
Ken Blanchard was talking about vulnerability and love in leadership way before any of us, says influential professor, author, and podcaster Bren Brown. Someone handed me The One Minute Manager after my first promotion at AT T in the early 90s. The idea of catching someone doing something right shaped how I lead, live, and parent.
I met Ken in 2003, when he needed an in-house editor to help with all the book projects he had undertaken. I had been writing a series of mystery novels, but after the attacks of 9/11 my heart was no longer in my work. Did the world need more stories about bad guys? The news at the time was filled with talk of terrorism and evildoers. Rather than creating fictional characters dedicated to catching people doing things wrong, I had the opportunity to work with the author who d popularized the idea of catching people doing things right.
I jumped at the chance.
Declaring that few people have been as influential a leader as author, thinker, and guru Ken Blanchard, the American Management Association had named Ken as one of the top leadership authorities of the century.
But who was the man behind the hype? Working with Ken, it didn t take long for me to find out. My motivation for writing this book is for you to find out, as well. No one asked me to write this biography. In fact, some people in the Blanchard organization discouraged me from doing so. I put the idea aside several times but could never shake the feeling that someone needed to capture the life of this extraordinary human being.
Ken Blanchard is one of the most widely quoted leadership experts in the world. He has written seventy books, which at last count have been translated into forty-seven languages. Altogether, more than twenty-five million copies of his books have been sold, and they continue to sell thousands of copies every year. He is the cocreator of two management theories-Situational Leadership 1 and SLII 2 -that are taught in universities and organizations across the globe. Through the company he cofounded in 1979, millions of people have become better leaders in the world s foremost business, nonprofit, and government organizations.
A lot of biographies chronicle the lives of big egos motivated by self-interest, power, and status. While these people may be interesting, they make dubious role models. Ken Blanchard is a man whose enlightened ideas about leadership have fundamentally changed people s lives for the better. He was born with advantages, certainly, but he has also suffered profound losses and overcome setbacks that might have derailed many of us. What really inspired me was Ken s authenticity. It s one thing to write uplifting ideas about leadership; it s another thing to live by those ideas.
Starting in 2005, I began collecting Ken s professional papers, letters, emails, and journal entries. I conducted dozens of interviews with his friends, family, and colleagues. When the pandemic hit, I began writing.
I have done my best to present an objective, fact-based portrait of Ken Blanchard. He is a human being, flawed like all the rest of us. At the same time, I found it impossible to disguise my affection and respect for my subject. It is my hope that in reading about his life, you will not only be informed and entertained, but also inspired to become a better leader at work, at home, and in your community.

1 Situational Leadership is a registered trademark of Leadership Studies Inc., dba The Center for Leadership Studies.
2 SLII is a registered trademark of Blanchard Training and Development Inc.
Prologue
Ken Blanchard-a fresh-faced seventeen-year-old with a passion for basketball-squirmed in his seat as the opposing team scored another basket.
Ken was accustomed to sitting on the bench. Although the young player was the co-captain of his team and an exceptional shooter, his coach favored a running team. This meant that Ken-whose large, flat feet didn t move that fast-rarely played the whole game. Typically, he would shake hands with the other captains at the start and return to the bench, only getting into the game at the end, when it was obvious that his team was either going to win or lose.
Tonight, Ken s team was up against White Plains, its archrival-a team brimming with talent and favored to win the league. Their star player was Manny Lawrence, who would go on to play for Colorado State and become part of the Big Eight basketball powerhouse.
Near the end of the fourth quarter, Ken s team was down by twelve points. Figuring they were going to lose anyway, Coach Ryan put Ken in the game.
The first four times Ken had the ball, he sank long jump shots from the left side. The crowd roared, and soon New Rochelle and White Plains were tied. The game went into overtime. White Plains got the lead right away, but Ken s team caught up with them, and the game went into a second overtime that ended in a tie.
At this point, the game would be decided by sudden death: whoever scored the first two points would win.
Coach Ryan called the team together. The crowd grew restless; people began shouting from the stands.
Then, a strange thing happened.
Suddenly, Ken didn t hear the coach. He no longer heard the roar of the crowd. For Ken, the whole place went silent. The only thing he heard was a voice within:
This is your game. Take it.
The coach clapped his hands, and Ken and his teammates went out on the floor. It was a jump ball, and White Plains got possession